Make It, Take It – 2017

2 cups canned pumpkin (Jodi’s modified this to 1-15 oz can of pumpkin)

3 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves (Jodi leaves out the cloves!)

Heat the oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, sugar, water, vegetable oil and eggs. Beat until well mixed. Measure the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and ground cloves into a separate bowl, then stir until combined (great job for the kids). Slowly add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, beating until smooth.

Grease two 9- by 5-inch loaf pans and dust them with flour. Evenly divide the batter between them. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pans by inverting them into a rack and tapping the bottoms. You can also take a knife or fork and slide it around the edge of the pumpkin bread to help it comes out of the pan!

Cream butters, sugars and vanilla. Add eggs, baking soda, flour, salt and cinnamon. Stir. Add oats and nuts and chocolate chips (as much as you like!). Stir. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and flatten. Bake at 350 degrees for a few minutes.

Murphy’s Grandmother’s Ginger Snaps (Heidi)

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

2 1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

granulated sugar

Cream shortening, brown sugar, molasses and egg till fluffy. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves; stir into molasses mixture. Form in small balls about the size of a walnut. Roll in granulated sugar; place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.

Makes about 5 dozen.

Sam’s Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

3 egg whites at room temp.

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Set oven to 300 degrees and place wax paper on baking sheets.

Mix together egg whites, salt and tartar until soft peaks form. Add sugar a tablespoon at a time and continue mixing until shiny stiff peaks form. Fold in vanilla and chocolate chips. Place half in a pastry bag with a 1 inch opening (or a ziploc bag with a corner cut off). Squeeze out inch size kisses onto wax paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are just starting to turn light brown on the peaks. Don’t cook too long because they burn easily.

Remove from the baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool.

3 Ingredient Pretzel Turtles

Rolos, unwrapped

1 bag rounded pretzels (twists)

Pecan halves

Place unwrapped rolos on top of rounded pretzels (as many as you can fit on a baking sheet) and bake for 5 minutes at 275.

Take them out, and place a pecan half on the rolo and press down. Put the pecan half on it when it’s still melty! Let cool. Delish!

Hear all about it at (31:08) minutes into the show podcast below.

Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar, divided

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Adjust two oven racks to upper and lower middle positions and preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir butter, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, and salt in a large bowl until combined. Stir in egg and vanilla until combined. Add flour, baking powder, and baking soda to bowl and stir until combined. Scoop 1/4 cup sized balls of dough onto baking sheets (7 to 8 per pan). Add remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar to now empty (unwashed) bowl. Roll each dough ball into sugar, return to pan, and press to about 1 inch thick. Bake until tops have puffed and cracked, and edges are golden, 9 to 11 minutes, rotating pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Let cool on pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool.

Oreo Truffles

1 (16 ounce) package OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided

1 (8 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 (8 ounce) packages BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter. Dip balls in chocolate; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator.

Rolo Ritz Bites

1 package of Rolos (unwrap many)

1 package of Ritz crackers

Heat the oven to 350. Place Ritz crackers facing down on a cookie sheet, and then place a rolo in the middle of each cracker. Once it’s melting (won’t take long!! – check after 3-5 minutes) remove from oven. Quickly place another Ritz on top and press down. It makes a little Rolo Ritz sandwich.

Crack Dip (sent to us by Stacey)

16oz sour cream

One packet hidden valley ranch dip

4-6 slices of fried crispy bacon

Scallions

1 cup shredded cheddar (save a little for on top)

Mix the sour cream and hidden valley ranch together. Add shredded cheddar and chopped scallions. As much or as little as you prefer. Save a little bit of the scallion cheese for on top. Next add chopped bacon and also save some for on top. Fold in all the ingredients and put leftover cheese, scallions, and bacon on top before covering. Let it be in the fridge for about 24hrs. Don’t skip the fridge…all the ingredients seem to collide together making this dip something you just can’t stop eating!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Christmas Muddy Buddies

8 cups Chex cereal, divided

1/2 cup creamyu peanut butter , divided

1 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided

1 cup Red Candy Melts

1 cup Green Candy Melts

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided

2 gallon ziplock bags

Place 4 cups of Chex cereal in a large bowl. In a microwave safe bowl, combine 1 cup Red Cany Melts, 1/4 cup peanut butter and 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds, stir and cook in 15 second intervals until smooth. Pour melted peanut butter mixture over cereal, toss to coat. Pour coated cereal into gallon ziplock bag, Pour half of the powdered sugar (3/4 cup) into ziplock bag ans seal. Shake to coat cereal. Pour coated cereal onto parchment or wax paper and allow to set. Repeat process with remaining ingredients and Green Candy Melts. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Jodi’s Super Easy Toffee Recipe

2 cups of butter (4 sticks)

2 cups of sugar

¼ tsp salt

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup sliced almonds

Pour softened butter, sugar and salt into heavy bottomed pot, cook on medium heat until bubbling/boiling. Stir often, but not constantly. You are waiting for it to be an amber color. A warm light brown.

While it’s cooking, place parchment paper on a cookie sheet/pan. When the butter mixture is the right color (it took me about 10-15 minutes) pour onto the parchment paper and spread to all corners with spatula or wooden spoon. While still hot – evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Then use a little parchment paper on your hand to spread the chips on top. They will melt into a layer. Sprinkle with the almonds pieces. Put in fridge to set – about an hour. Break into pieces and serve or store for 2-3 weeks in airtight container. You can substitute any kind of chopped nuts. Murphy LOVES his!

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